Students of Ohio University's Venture Creation Course recently donated $300 of their profits from a student-run business to the local chapter of Big Brother Big Sisters (BBBS).

The Venture Creation Course, funded two years ago by the Snyder Fund of the College of Business Executive Advisory Board, teaches students about running a business and requires them to apply their knowledge by formulating a business plan and putting it in to action over the course of the academic year.

"The most important thing about this program is that it gives students hands on experience about running a program," Assistant Professor of Management Systems Will Lamb said. "They do not talk hypothetically about the product, as in class, but come up with a plan and market it. It teaches them teamwork, customer service, product selection and how to adapt a product."

Last year students selected an MP3 player that functioned dually as a flash drive that plugged in to a USB port as their sale item. From their profits, and in addition to BBBS, students paid a dividend back to the Snyder Fund, providing funds for other student organizations in the College of Business. They gave the final share back to the Venture Creation Fund for use by the following year's student groups.

The 2004-2005 Venture Creation Course consisted of 23 students, each of whom applied and was accepted into the program. The product and summary of the project can be viewed online at www.plugitplayit.com.

Jessica Zibbel is a student writer with University Communications and Marketing.